1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automobile differential gear system capable of detecting steering angle and positively regulating the right and left rear axles of the automobile to enable the automobile to run smoothly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The conventional differential gear is designed to drive the right and left driving axles by the same torque. Therefore, when different frictional resistances act on the wheels fixed to the right and left driving axles, the revolving rate of the driving axle connected to the wheel on which a smaller frictional resistance is acting is higher than that of the driving axle connected to the wheel on which a greater frictional resistance is acting.
When the steering wheel of an automobile is turned, the direction of the front wheels is shifted, and then the direction of the body is changed by the propelling power of the driving wheels. Accordingly, a greater frictional resistance acts on the inner rear wheel, while a smaller frictional resistance acts on the outer rear wheel, and hence the outer rear wheel rotates at a revolving rate higher than that of the inner rear wheel. Since the running direction of an automobile is changed by such a subordinate frictional phenomenon, the minimum turning radius of an automobile is dependent on the structural factors, such as size, of the automobile, and hence the minimum turning radius cannot be changed.
The differential motion of the rear wheels is due to the shift of the direction of the front wheels and the resultant difference between the right and left rear wheels in frictional resistance that acts on the rear wheels, and hence the differential motion of the rear wheels is subject to the movement of the front wheel. Accordingly, there is a fixed time-lag between steering motion and the response of the direction changing movement of the automobile. Therefore, a driver of an automobile is required to operate the steering wheel in expectation of a running course of the automobile. Accordingly, the driver often fails in judging correct running course when the automobile is running on an alley, and is often obliged to operate the steering wheel again to correct the running direction of the automobile.
In running on a frozen road, the steering wheel is apt to be turned excessively in correcting the direction of the automobile by countersteering when the automobile drifts diagonally due to slip, if the response of the movement of the automobile to the steering action is delayed.
These problems that occur while the automobile is running can be solved by the enhancement of the function of the differential gear, however, any differential gear capable of solving such problem has not been developed so far.